


This Living Hand

by Irrelevancy



Series: And Time Will Have His Fancy [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Assassination, Canon Related, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, Past Violence, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3450899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irrelevancy/pseuds/Irrelevancy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Oh," Killua said, blinking, "I know this town. I’ve been here before."</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>"Yeah?" Gon asked casually, leaning over to check out a shop’s window display. "What for?"</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>"…Family vacation."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	This Living Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Gon and Killua traveling. References Killua's past as an assassin, but not in a particularly traumatic way.

"Oh," Killua said, blinking, "I know this town. I’ve been here before."

"Yeah?" Gon asked casually, leaning over to check out a shop’s window display. "What for?"

"…Family vacation."

It took a second— when Gon realized, he grimaced over his shoulder at Killua, who made his best  _You asked for it_  face. Gon straightened up, a furrow in his brow, and Killua stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Will anyone here recognize you?"  _Do we have to leave?_ Killua didn’t know which was worse, answering Yes or No. In the end, he went for the truth, timing a turn just right so he wouldn’t have to see Gon’s expression.

"No." Pivot. To his left was a road he recognized, having explored it when he was— six? seven? Probably seven, because he remembered his pockets weighed down with throwing knives, and Illumi gave him his first pair only after he mastered all the possible ways to snap a neck. "Hey, wanna see something cool?"

"Shouldn’t we get an inn first?" But Gon was already following Killua down the path, voice lilting in interest. Killua grinned toothily.

"Then let’s make this fast. Race ya!"

* * *

"Wow," Gon breathed. Killua watched his best friend’s face, taking pride in having put that awe-struck expression there. "That’s— Killua, this is amazing!"

"It’s a bacteria, or something." Turning his gaze to the lake as well, Killua smirked. "Milluki tried to explain it to me, but I was young, and I just wanted to play in the cool glow-y water."

"You’re still young," Gon laughed. When he spun around, his eyes were lit with intention. Killua felt his expression shifting to match. "Round two?"

At once, they both started pulling off their shoes.

"Race to the other side of the lake?" Killua suggested, yanking his shirt over his head.

"Pft, too easy," Gon scoffed, pants dropping around his ankles. "Race you to the _bottom_.”

They splash into the lake together, the water lit red like it was burning, licking up their feet and calves and thighs. It was warmer than both of them had expected, and once the coarse sand gave way to rockier depths, they both dove their heads under. For four whole minutes, the surface of the lake stood tranquil, darkening into orange, then brown, then black with the sunset. Only the edges were still lit, blue now, little atomi radiating light on the sand.

Then, the surface broke. White hair and splashing water everywhere, together with a wet, breathless gasp.

"No fair!" Killua yelped, rubbing sand from his face, as Gon surfaced, laughing. "You played dirty!"

"I learn from the best," Gon answered cheekily. Killua finally spat out the last bit of dirt, glaring up, only to find his friend looking at him with a strange expression.

"What is it?" Killua asked grumpily. Gon smiled and reached forward, taking a bit of Killua’s wet hair between his fingers.

"Look—" Blue light gleamed in Gon’s dark eyes, making them look… intentional. Deliberate. "—Your hair’s glowing, too. It makes you look…" Killua didn’t know why, but he held his breath, waiting for Gon’s last words. "…out of this world."

Killua took a moment, then laughed, hopelessly.

"Are you kidding me?" He grabbed a handful of his sodden hair and raked it back, glowing water showering down his shoulders; he watched Gon’s eyes track the movement. "Is this how you sweet-talked all the cougars back on your island? Did you tell them they were  _out of his world_?”

"No— Well, yes— But—" Gon huffed at Killua’s laughs, splashing water at his friend. "Hey, I was serious. You look really cool and alien when your hair’s glowing like that." When Killua didn’t stop laughing, Gon began to swim back toward the shore, grumbling under his breath. "Fine, be like that when I’m trying to compliment you…"

It wasn’t until they both had their underclothing on, heading barefoot back to the town that Killua spoke.

"The person that Illumi brought me here to kill was a corrupt politician," he told, slipping his free hand into his pocket, shoes dangling from the other. "I didn’t see a problem with killing, per se, but if I could help it, I killed people who deserved to die. Or well, seemed like they did, in my seven-year-old eyes."

"That’s good," Gon genuinely complimented. Killua breathed, continuing.

"It was my first time killing with knives— it was part of my training. There was a lot of blood."  _More than I was expecting._  ”I found the lake at sunset, and it was red, just like you saw. I hopped in. There was a family beside ours, a normal one, having a picnic by the lake. They didn’t notice anything. I even played with the little girl in the water.”  _Where we were both red._

Cicadas buzzed, and there was silence beside Killua. He didn’t notice that Gon had fallen behind, pulling on his boots. The sound of Gon hopping up and down on one leg scattered birds and bats through the evening sky, and Killua turned around in mild surprise, hand falling out of his pocket. Gon caught it, weaving their fingers together. He tilted his head up, and his grin was bright under the moonlight.

"Thank you for showing me the lake," Gon said, squeezing Killua’s hand. "It was a lot of fun."

Killua turned his head away then, hiding his face. ”Oh shut up,” he muttered, as Gon laughed. “You’re just a big sap.”

He left his hand right where it was.


End file.
